Megan underwater drilling structures and methods

ABSTRACT

Structures and methods are disclosed for underwater drilling. One embodiment includes a housing having a plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes, wherein there are multiple drill casings in each of the plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes. One or more underwater drilling structures may be stacked on each other in order to connectably establish an underwater drilling structure that satisfies the drilling requirements for recovery or otherwise collecting hydrocarbons. The housing may connect to an adjustable containment portion that is integrated or removable connected to an exploration, production, containment or storage structure, e.g., a drilling ship. The interior of the housing includes the plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes and multiple drill casings, and the housing, itself, may shield its interior from contact with water.

FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

This disclosure generally relates to drilling structures and methods for oil production recovery, wherein the drill structure includes a plurality of drilling tubes having a plurality of drill casings therein that is braced for lateral and vertical movement during subsea drilling.

BACKGROUND

Drilling structures and methods are used to access hydrocarbons in subsea or subterranean environments. Comparatively, construction, maintenance, and contamination retention are more difficult in subsea than subterranean environments; deep waters exacerbate these difficulties. For instance, containment of an oil spill at sea is more difficult to contain than on land because of the liquid-liquid dispersion alongside the influences of current in the former as compared to the liquid-solid dispersion that occurs in the latter. Furthermore, drilling structures at sea often require protracted periods both for constructing, including, for example, casing wells, or otherwise assembling the drilling structure before its ultimate use, and for repairing or otherwise maintaining parts and equipment located on or associated with the drilling structure located underwater. In fact, expensive equipment may be needed just to reach these parts and equipment located underwater due to depth or maneuverability constraints.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the method includes a method for collecting hydrocarbons. The method includes drilling within an underwater drilling structure into an underwater terrain containing the hydrocarbon. The underwater drilling structure includes a plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes. Further, the underwater drilling structure includes multiple drill casings in each of the plurality. Further still, the underwater drilling structure includes a housing for the plurality. The method additionally includes collecting the hydrocarbons by an exploration, production, containment or storage structure in communication with the underwater drilling structure.

In one embodiment, an underwater drilling structure includes a plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes. Further, the underwater drilling structure includes multiple drill casings in each of the plurality. Further still, the underwater drilling structure includes a housing for the plurality.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features, advantages and objects of the present invention are attained and can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to the embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings.

It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the disclosure may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1 depicts a top view of an example embodiment of a plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes in accordance with the disclosed methods and structures.

FIG. 2A depicts a cross-sectional view of an example embodiment of a perimeter drilling tube located near the perimeter of an interior of the housing, wherein this exemplary drilling tube, which could be either a perimeter drilling tube or central drilling tube in other example embodiments, has multiple drill casings, and, in particular, thirteen drill casings, in accordance with the disclosed methods and structures.

FIG. 2B depicts a cross-sectional view of an example embodiment of a central drilling tube located near the center of an interior of the housing, wherein this exemplary drilling tube, which could be either a perimeter drilling tube or central drilling tube in other example embodiments, has multiple drill casings, and, in particular, thirteen drill casings, in accordance with the disclosed methods and structures.

FIG. 3 depicts an example embodiment of a side view of a central drilling tube flanked by perimeter drilling tubes in accordance with the disclosed methods and structures.

FIG. 4 depicts an example embodiment of a side view or longitudinal cross section of a drilling structure having an adjustable containment portion that connects a structure, e.g., drill ship, to a housing having a plurality of interconnected drilling tubes therein, wherein the adjustable containment portion houses a blowout preventer (“BOP”) and allows drill pipe to traverse therethrough into the ocean floor, wherein the BOP is in relatively close proximity (e.g., SCUBA-diving proximity) to the water's surface, in accordance with the disclosed methods and structures.

FIG. 5 depicts an example embodiment of a connected underwater drilling structure that is the result of connecting two or more drilling underwater drilling structures, in accordance with the disclosed methods and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The following is a detailed description of example embodiments of the invention depicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are examples and are in such detail as to clearly communicate the invention. However, the amount of detail offered is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. The detailed descriptions below are designed to make such embodiments obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

In addition, directional terms, such as “above,” “below,” “upper,” “lower,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” etc., are used for convenience in referring to the accompanying drawings. In general, “above,” “upper,” “upward,” “top,” and similar terms refer to a direction away the earth's surface, and “below,” “lower,” “downward,” “bottom,” and similar terms refer to a direction toward the earth's surface, but is meant for illustrative purposes only, and the terms are not meant to limit the disclosure.

Generally disclosed are methods and systems for drilling structures to assist in the collection, recovery, and/or production of hydrocarbons, e.g., oil. Turning to FIG. 1, this figure depicts an example embodiment of a top view of a structure that includes a plurality 100 of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes 101-113 in a spoke-and-hub arrangement. Here, the interconnections among the plurality 100 occurs via supports 115, 120 that include both lateral supports, such as lateral support 115, or radial supports, such as radial support 120, and combinations thereof 115, 120. The supports 115, 120 interconnect at least two interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes, e.g., 101 and 102, within the plurality 100. The supports 115, 120, themselves, may be made out of metal pipe, optionally treated with anti-corrosive materials; in other embodiments, the supports 115, 120 may be made of any material sufficient to impart integrity to the plurality 100 of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes 101-113.

FIG. 1, in fact, shows many supports 115, 120 among the plurality 100, and in this particular, example arrangement, the plurality 100 includes a central drilling tube 113 that is surrounded by twelve perimeter drilling tubes 101-112, in a balanced arrangement. In other example embodiments, the plurality 100 may include a central drilling tube 113 interconnected with two or more perimeter drilling tubes, for example and without limitation, four perimeter drilling tubes, namely perimeter drilling tubes 101, 104, 107 and 110. More or less drilling tubes may be in a plurality 100 in other example embodiments. In this example shown in FIG. 1 or other examples, the central drilling tube 113 has a larger length, width or combinations thereof as compared to the perimeter drilling tubes 101-112, and, thereby, the central drilling tube 113 takes on an enhanced structural support role for the plurality 100. However, in other example embodiments, any or all of the drilling tubes 101-113 within the plurality 100 may be the same or different in length, width, and combinations thereof so as to result in a balanced arrangement, or, if desired, an unbalanced arrangement, when the plurality 100 is interconnected, such as through one or more supports, e.g., 115, 120.

Turning now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, these figures show example embodiments of a central drilling tube 200 and a perimeter drilling tube 250, such as shown at FIG. 1 in central drilling tube 113 and a perimeter drilling tube 101. FIGS. 2A and 2B also show multiple drill casings 201-213 in central drilling tube 200 and multiple drill casings 251-263 in perimeter drilling tube 250. In various example embodiments, each of the multiple drill casings, e.g., 201-213 and/or 251-263, may be the same or different in length, width, and combinations thereof. In one example embodiment, a drill casing, e.g., 251, may be two hundred feet long, but the length may be greater or lesser in other example embodiments. Although FIGS. 2A and 2B depict thirteen drill casings 201-213 or 251-263 in a drilling tube 200 or 250, other example embodiments may include more or less drill casings per drilling tube. In various example embodiments, each drill casing, e.g., 201-213 and/or 251-263, may receive a drilling tube in order to engage in hydrocarbon recovery almost immediately after placing the disclosed drilling structure in place. In other example embodiment, one or more of the drill casings, e.g., 201-213 and/or 251-263, may be pre-filled or filled with concrete or other filler material that prevents drilling in such one or more of the drill casings. In still additional example embodiments, one or more directional, angled drillheads may be located on one or more of the multiple drill casings e.g., 201-213 and/or 251-263, which optionally guide drilling through wired or wireless communicated global positioning satellite coordinates. Such drillheads may be located, for instance, at the bottom of one or more of the multiple drill casings e.g., 201-213 and/or 251-263 through one or more openings in a bottom 470 of a housing 420 (as depicted, for example, in FIG. 4) that otherwise may sealingly encapsulate the drilling tubes, e.g., 200, 250, having multiple drill casings, e.g., 201-213 and/or 251-263, therein 200, 250.

Moving on, FIG. 3 depicts an example embodiment of a side view of a drill structure 300 that includes a central drilling tube 310 connected via two supports 315, 317 to and flanked by perimeter drilling tubes 320, 325 contained within a housing 345 having an interior 335 and an exterior 340. In this example embodiment, disclosed are example dimensions for the drilling tubes 310, 320, 325 and two supports 315, 317 as well as example spacing of the two supports 315, 317 relative to each other 315, 317 and the drilling tubes 310, 320, 325. Here, FIG. 3 shows the perimeter drilling tubes 320, 325 having the same width of thirty feet and the same length of one hundred and twenty feet. The central drilling tube 310 also has the same length, but is comparatively wider at forty feet. The two supports 315, 317 are placed such that the upper support 315 is thirty feet below the top of the drilling tubes 310, 320, 325 and the lower support 317 is thirty feet above the bottom of the drilling tubes 310, 320, 325. Thus, there is sixty feet between the two supports 315, 317. Again, only one support or more than two supports of any kind, e.g., lateral, radial, etc., may be used in other example embodiments just as more or less drilling tubes may be used, regardless of the arrangement, including whether the arrangement of drilling tubes includes none or one or more central drilling tubes.

FIG. 4 depicts an example embodiment of a side view or longitudinal cross section of a drilling structure 400 having an adjustable containment portion 435 that connects a structure 405, e.g., drill ship, to a housing 420 having an interior 425 and an exterior 430, wherein the housing 420 has a plurality of interconnected, e.g., via one or more structures like 445, drilling tubes 440 therein 425, wherein the adjustable containment portion 435 houses a blowout preventer (“BOP”) 415 and allows drill pipe 410 to traverse therethrough 435 into the ocean floor 450, wherein the BOP 415 is in relatively close proximity (e.g., SCUBA-diving proximity) to the water's surface 401, e.g., two hundred feet underwater 401. In other example embodiments, the top 460 of the housing 420, which also has a bottom 470 and sides, e.g., 465, 467, is closer or farther away than two hundred feet from the water's surface 401. The top 460 of the housing 420 may be opened or closed, wherein the closed embodiment encloses the entirety of the interconnected drilling tubes, each having non-depicted drill casings therein, save connection(s) at the top 460 of the housing 420 with the adjustable containment portion 435 for optional communication with an exploration, production, containment or storage structure 405. The removable or non-removable connection between the top 460 of the housing 420 and the adjustable containment portion 435 may be via bolts, screws, weld, or otherwise; a non-removable connection, for instance, may be where the adjustable containment portion 435 is a mere extension and integral part of the housing 420, itself, and, more particularly, be an extruded, metal portion, for instance, of the housing 420 that may connect by bolts, screws, weld, or otherwise to the structure 405 so as to still enable collection of hydrocarbons with decreased likelihood of spilling or contamination into the water 401, 450. The effect of the housing 420 in a closed top 460, save opening(s) made for sealed, optionally removable connection to the bottom of the adjustable containment portion 435, is to shield the plurality of drilling tubes having multiple drill casings therein, from contact with water 401, 450 during drilling and collecting into a structure 405 that is also in sealed, optionally removable connection, whether directly or indirectly, with the adjustable containment portion 435. In order to assist in placing, moving, or otherwise setting the underwater drilling structure 400, for instance, of the drilling structure 400, one or more jets 480 may be mounted to an exterior 430 of the housing 420, wherein the one or more jets 480 assist in setting the underwater drilling structure 400.

FIG. 5 depicts an example embodiment of a connected underwater drilling structure 520 that is the result of connecting two or more drilling underwater drilling structures, such as drilling structures 521, 522, and 523, wherein the connected underwater drilling structure 520 is housed with a top 560 that is the top of underwater drilling structure 521 and a bottom 570 that is the bottom of underwater drilling structure 570. Just as in FIG. 4, connected underwater drilling structure 520 may connect to an adjustable containment portion 535 that allows a drilling tube 510 to pass therethrough 535, wherein the BOP 515 is in relatively close to the water's surface 501; further, the adjustable containment portion 535 may also connect at its 535 other end to a structure 505 for exploration, production, containment or storage of hydrocarbons. Here, the connected underwater drilling structure 520 is the result of stacking and connecting individual underwater drilling structures 521, 522, and 523, such as the examples shown in the preceding FIGS. 1-4 and discussed herein, so as to create a taller (i.e., longer) drilling structure, wherein such may be desired in deep waters, e.g., distance between the water's surface 501 and the seafloor 550. That is, the modular stacking and connecting permits easy construction and assembly for drilling structures that still shield the plurality of drilling tubes having multiple drill casings therein, from contact with water 501, 550 during drilling and collecting into a structure 505 that is also in sealed, optionally removable connection, whether directly or indirectly, with the adjustable containment portion 535. For example, one method of stacking would be to weld each of the drilling units in series, and any openings necessary for connecting components from one drilling unit, e.g., 521, to another drilling unit's, e.g., 522, components, so as to create a connected underwater drilling structure 520 that sealably protects all components, e.g., plurality of drilling tubes having multiple drill casings therein.

Notably, stacking and connecting individual underwater drilling structures 521, 522, and 523 to form connected underwater drilling structure 520 may require that bottoms 568, 569, or portions thereof, of individual underwater drilling structures 521, 522 are opened so that the plurality of drilling tubes, each having multiple drill casings therein, align so that drilling tube 510, for instance, may traverse a drill casing, which in the connected underwater drilling structure 520, goes through what may be viewed now as a “single” drill casing that extends through individual underwater drilling structure 521, 522, and 523 as a result of the linear, stacked alignment of three drill casings 540, 541, 542 from individual underwater drilling structures 521, 522, and 523 in order to drill into and collect hydrocarbons from beneath the seafloor 570.

Although already discussed and envisaged by the foregoing, further discussion of a methodological aspect of the disclosure ensues. A method for collecting hydrocarbons is disclosed that includes drilling within an underwater drilling structure into an underwater terrain containing the hydrocarbons, wherein the underwater drilling structure comprises a plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes, where each of the plurality have multiple drill casings, and the plurality are within a housing. The method further includes collecting the hydrocarbons by an exploration, production, containment or storage structure in communication with the underwater drilling structure, such as through an optionally removable adjustable containment portion that sealingly connects the drilling structure's housing to the exploration, production, containment or storage structure, so as to prevent spillage or contamination into or out the drilling structure. Furthermore, with the BOP being close to the top of the drilling structure, e.g., about 200 feet in some example embodiments, assembly, construction, maintenance and repair of the drilling structure is possible through SCUBA-diving and avoidance of expensive equipment to access deep or otherwise difficult-to-reach, underwater locations. The drilling occurring with use of the disclosed drilling structure includes inserting and rotating drill pipe into one or more of the multiple drill casings of the drilling structure. In additional, example embodiments the drilling may include directionally drilling through directional angled drillheads located on one or more of the multiple drill casings that optionally guide the drilling through communicated global positioning satellite coordinates.

While the foregoing is directed to example embodiments of the disclosed invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An underwater drilling structure comprising: a plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes; multiple drill casings in each of the plurality; and a housing for the plurality.
 2. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein each of the multiple drill casings comprise a same or different length, width, and combinations thereof.
 3. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein each of the multiple drill casings has a length of less than two hundred feet.
 4. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein one or more of the multiple drill casings are filled with concrete or other filler material.
 5. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, further comprising one or more directional, angled drillheads located on one or more of the multiple drill casings that optionally guide drilling through communicated global positioning satellite coordinates.
 6. The underwater drill structure of claim 1, wherein a blow-out preventer is positioned above the housing and within SCUBA-diving distance underwater.
 7. The underwater drill structure of claim 6 wherein the SCUBA-diving distance is approximately two-hundred feet underwater.
 8. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality comprise a same or different length, width, and combinations thereof.
 9. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein an interconnection among the plurality comprises one or more supports interconnecting at least two interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes within the plurality.
 10. The underwater drilling structure of claim 9, wherein the one or more supports comprise lateral supports, radial supports, and combinations thereof.
 11. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein the plurality comprises a spoke-and-hub arrangement of the plurality.
 12. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein the plurality comprises a balanced arrangement for the plurality of each drilling tube within the plurality.
 13. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein the plurality comprises a central drilling tube interconnected to two or more perimeter drilling tubes.
 14. The underwater drilling structure of claim 13, wherein the central drilling tube has a larger length, width or combinations thereof as compared to either of the two or more perimeter drilling tubes.
 15. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein the housing has one or more sides, a bottom and a top, wherein one or more of the plurality is exposed at the top.
 16. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, further comprising the housing connected to an adjustable containment portion for optional communication with an exploration, production, containment or storage structure.
 17. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein the housing shields the plurality and the multiple drill casings from contact with water.
 18. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein the underwater drilling structure is connectably stacked onto another underwater drilling structure to form a connected underwater drilling structure comprising two or more stacked underwater drilling structures.
 19. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, further comprising one or more jets mounted to an exterior of the housing, wherein the one or more jets assist in setting the underwater drilling structure.
 20. A method for collecting hydrocarbons, the method comprising: drilling within an underwater drilling structure into an underwater terrain containing the hydrocarbons, wherein the underwater drilling structure comprises: a plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes; multiple drill casings in each of the plurality, and a housing for the plurality, and collecting the hydrocarbons by an exploration, production, containment or storage structure in communication with the underwater drilling structure.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the drilling comprises inserting and rotating drill pipe in one or more of the multiple drill casings.
 22. The method of claim 20, wherein the drilling comprises directionally drilling through directional angled drillheads located on one or more of the multiple drill casings that optionally guide the drilling through communicated global positioning satellite coordinates. 